Horticulture Is

Horticulture is the science and art of the production, marketing, and use of high-value, intensively cultivated plants. Horticultural crops are diverse; they include annual and perennial species, edible and ornamental plants. These plants help sustain and enrich our lives by providing nutritious food, enhancing the beauty of our homes and communities and reducing our carbon footprint.

For more detailed information about horticulture and studying it at MSU, watch this video:

Why Study Horticulture at MSU?

The Department of Horticulture at MSU is dedicated to providing the highest-quality education and is one of the largest horticulture programs in the U.S. As the nation’s first Horticulture Department, we are proud to maintain a tradition of excellence spanning more than 150 years.

In addition, MSU has very active student clubs that allow YOU to get involved in many aspects of horticulture while having fun.

The Student Horticulture Association at the homecoming parade.

Careers in Horticulture

Horticulturalists are key to the development and production of a safe and secure food supply, and integral to healthy lifestyles and human well-being. Horticulture is the science and art of developing, producing, marketing and use of high-value, intensively cultivated plants. These are the food plants with high nutritive, vitamin, mineral, fiber and bioactive value, as well as ornamentals having beautification and therapeutic impact. In other words, they are the “specialty crops” that help make life worth living!

Horticulture combines cutting edge and traditional technologies for the sustainable and profitable production and marketing of specialty crops. Practitioners of horticulture are as diverse as the crops that make up the industry and the discipline. They include a wide array of individuals and groups who farm, landscape, garden, research, advise and enjoy the bounty of horticultural plants for their nourishment, health benefits and aesthetics.

A strong and sustained need for horticulture professionals exists. This is true in Michigan, the Great Lakes region, nationally and internationally; and is as true for small, local operations as it is for larger commercial enterprises. The Department of Agriculture census estimated U.S. fresh market vegetable production at 18 million metric tons and a value of nearly $12 billion in 2015. Similarly, U.S. (non-citrus) fruit and nut production was valued at over $26 billion for approximately 22 million tons in 2014. In addition, it is estimated that the global urban horticulture market is worth nearly $300 billion.

Michigan produces over 300 commodities, making it the second most agriculturally diverse state in the nation, and exports internationally to Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, South Korea, etc. These successful horticultural operations depend on expertise in areas such as physiology, breeding, molecular biology, pomology, viticulture, and greenhouse management to enhance yield and improve production. The 2014 U.S. Coalition for Sustainable Agriculture concluded that too few scientists are being trained in agricultural disciplines like horticulture.

Urban horticulture: Brooklyn Grange rooftop farms in New York City.

Horticulture also contributes to quality of life, and the beauty, sustainability and rehabilitation of our environment and the human condition (e.g., see https://www.loveyourlandscape.org/more/the-benefits-of-landscapes/). Environmental horticulture (i.e., the “green industry”), is composed of careers in greenhouse production, wholesale brokers, commercial nurseries, garden centers, florists and landscape design and construction firms, as well as private and community gardens, municipal parks and state or national reserves. Michigan ranks third in floriculture/greenhouse production, whith wholesale crops valued at over $400 million, where, for example, bedding/annual garden plants account for over half of those sales – leading the U.S. (http://flor.hrt.msu.edu).

In addition to traditional scientific horticultural knowledge, these professional endeavors require directors and staff with expertise in landscape design and installation, personnel management and garden administration. Amenity/therapeutic horticulture and environmental services contribute to improved mental health and the local and national economy. For example, a recent report out of Texas A&M University and the University of Florida concluded that the green industry in the U.S. had direct employment of 1.6 million individuals, nearly $14 billion in sales, and direct economic output of $136 billion. Michigan is among the top 10 states in terms of employment in the green industry.